Souders Financial Advisors Lowers Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Souders Financial Advisors lowered its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,395 shares of the company’s stock after selling 114 shares during the period. Souders Financial Advisors’ holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 85.4% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at about $182,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 48.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 126,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 41,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,956 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total value of $4,447,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,021,265.74. This represents a 28.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 over the last quarter. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on RCL. Mizuho reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 price objective (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 6.0 %

NYSE:RCL opened at $226.67 on Wednesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $124.24 and a 52 week high of $277.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The company has a market cap of $61.00 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59. The business’s 50 day moving average is $244.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $217.40.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operates as a cruise company worldwide. The company operates cruises under the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises brands, which comprise a range of itineraries. As of February 21, 2024, it operated 65 ships. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.